YOUR FAVORITE MTV SHOWS ARE ON PARAMOUNT+

For The Record: Quick News On Jay-Z, Kelly Rowland, Nickelback, Coldplay, Chad Muska, Vanessa Carlton & More

Showtime will broadcast a full-length Jay-Z concert on February 22. The one-hour show from Memphis is slated to feature as-yet-unnamed cameos from Roc-A-Fella family members and will precede the Mike Tyson-Clifford Etienne heavyweight boxing match. ...

Kelly Rowland filmed the video for "Can't Nobody," the second single from her solo debut, Simply Deep, last weekend in Los Angeles. Benny Boom (Nas, P. Diddy) directed the clip, which is a take-off of the Christian Slater flick "True Romance." The song and video will hit outlets in late January. ... Vanessa Carlton, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Brian McKnight, Ray Charles, Diana Krall, Rufus Wainwright, Jewel and Nikka Costa are among the artists who will perform in honor of Elton John on January 17 at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California. The benefit for music education is being sponsored by NAMM (the International Music Products Association), which will present John with the Yamaha 2003 Lifetime Achievement in Musical Excellence Award. ...

Those "Make Trade Fair" T-shirts worn by Coldplay singer Chris Martin aren't all for show. Since the band's inception, Coldplay have set aside a fixed percentage of their royalties for charities that include Oxfam and Amnesty International. While management is mum about the exact figure, they did say the band gives between 5 and 15 percent of all its earnings to worthy causes. ... Nickelback and Oleander will launch a seven-date mini-tour beginning January 17 at the Tabernacle in Atlanta and running through a January 25 date at the

Egyptian Room in Indianapolis, with stops in Jacksonville, Raleigh, New York,

Boston and Detroit. Tickets for the club tour are available exclusively through sponsoring radio stations. ...

The debut album from professional street skateboarder Chad Muska,

MuskaBeatz, will be released exclusively to skate shops on February

11. The disc features songs written and performed by an impressive array of

hip-hop legends, including Prodigy from Mobb Deep, Guru, Flavor Flav, Raekwon, KRS-One, Biz Markie, Afrika Bambaataa, Ice-T, Grandmaster Melle Mel, U-God, Special Ed, MC Lyte and Jeru the Damaja. ... Those who've always considered Patti LaBelle a space case now have more fuel to add to their rocket ship. The soul diva has been asked to record a song for NASA, which will serve as the organization's anthem. The tune "Way Up There" was written by LaBelle's collaborator Tena Clark and will also be used as the theme song for the 100th anniversary celebration of the Wright Brothers' first flight. ...

Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines tested her acting skills with a cameo role in the independent children's film "Grand Champion," which was directed by her friend and rodeo star Barry Tubb. The flick, which tells the story of a boy who kidnaps a steer to prevent it from being slaughtered, stars Julia Roberts and Bruce Willis and features George Strait and Charlie Robison. "Grand Champion" premiered in select cities last year and will receive widespread theatrical release in the coming months. ...

Nile will kick off their headlining U.S. tour on January 17 in Houston, Texas, at Fitzgerald's. Support for the trek, dubbed The Art of Noise, will come from Napalm Death, Dark Tranquillity, Strapping Young Lad and the Berzerker. ... Guided by Voices frontman Robert Pollard will release a seven-song EP called Motel of Fools on January 14 that reunites him with GBV rotating castmembers Jim MacPherson and Tobin Sprout. The EP will not spell an end to Guided by Voices, but is meant to be a taste of a full-length Pollard solo record expected this spring. ...

Gary Glitter, who has been convicted for crimes related to child pornography in the past, has been deported from Cambodia after being detained for suspected sex offenses there. The 58-year-old fallen U.K. pop star, best known for the American sports-arena anthem "Rock and Roll Part 2," has reportedly fled to Thailand. ...

01.06.03

Ja Rule, B2K and Nickelback are the latest acts announced to perform at the 30th annual American Music Awards on January 13. Erykah Badu, Dru Hill, Goo Goo Dolls singer Johnny Rzeznik, Saliva, Melissa Joan Hart, Frankie Muniz, Jennie Garth, Aimee Osbourne and Ryan Seacrest of "American Idol" have joined the list of presenters for the show, which will air live on ABC. ...

Incubus have begun writing the follow-up to 2001's Morning View at their home studios in Los Angeles and Calabasas, California. The band hasn't picked an official date to start recording. ... Silverchair singer Daniel Johns and singer/actress Natalie Imbruglia were engaged over the Christmas holiday. No wedding date has been set yet, according to a press statement from Silverchair's Australian label. ...

Urban Renewal, a collection of Phil Collins covers by hip-hop artists, will be released in North America on February 11. The album, released in Germany in May of 2001, features Lil' Kim ("In the Air Tonight"), Brandy ("Another Day in Paradise"), Ol' Dirty Bastard ("Sussudio") and others. ... Ani DiFranco, Sleater-Kinney, Sarah McLachlan, the Indigo Girls, Tracy Bonham, Neko Case, Angelique Kidjo, Suzanne Vega, Dolly Parton, Kristin Hersh

and Tanya Donelly are among the eclectic list of female artists contributing

rare and previously unreleased tracks to Respond II (January 21).

Proceeds from the two-disc, 32-track benefit compilation for families

affected by domestic violence will go to the Respond Inc. and Family Violence

Prevention Fund organizations. ...

Ex- Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler, Quiet Riot vocalist Kevin DuBrow and Mötley Crüe screamer Vince Neil took a Las Vegas strip-club stage on New Year's Eve to rock out covers of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and ZZ Top's "Tush." They got to watch all the lovely ladies without paying the cover charge or buying drinks. ... Iron Maiden will return to the studio this month to begin work on their 13th studio album, producer Kevin Shirley posted on his Web site. The LP is expected to hit shelves before the end of the summer and a full tour will follow. ... St. Louis hard rockers Gravity Kills have called it quits, with each member

moving on to other projects, according to an announcement on the band's

official Web site. A reason for the split was not announced, for "legal

reasons," according to the post. The band's final album, Superstarved,

was released last March. ...

Influential 1960s British rockers the Yardbirds will release their first studio album since 1967's Little Games on April 22. Titled Birdland, the new record will feature founding members Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty, and for one track, one of the group's three legendary guitarists, Jeff Beck (Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page also clocked time in the band). Joining the group on the album will be Queen's Brian May, Slash, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Johnny Rzeznik and others. ... Jason Newsted's label Chophouse Records will release an album by the doomy Tree of the Sun in the near future. The band includes Devin Townsend, Dale Crover of the Melvins and former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder. ...

Morcheeba will launch a winter tour beginning January 21 in Washington, D.C., and wrapping February 8 in Los Angeles. Rosey will open the entire tour. ... A two-disc greatest-hits sets from the French dance/hip-hop label Source,

Sourcelabs (The Best Of), will be released on January 28. With songs

from Air, Daft Punk, Alex Gopher, I Cube, Mozesli, Motor Bass, Scratch Pet Land and DJ Gilb'r, the set covers songs issued between 1995-1997 on the

pioneering Parisian label. ... Electroclash imports Ladytron will embark on their first tour of the U.S. February 16 in Philadelphia, to support their second album, Light & Magic. With psychedelic pop quartet Simian in tow as openers, the trek continues through March 8 in Los Angeles. ...

Latest News